The Borussia Dortmund U23s have claimed a clear victory away to Ruhr rivals MSV Duisburg thanks to another attacking masterclass. A furious second half saw the Black & Yellows run out 5-0 (1-0) winners. The result keeps Borussia in 15th place in the table with a three-point cushion over the first relegation berth.

The scenario: The U23s wanted to continue their recent upturn and went into this game on a three-match unbeaten streak. In addition, the Black & Yellows had won all three of their matches against MSV by a combined 9-2 scoreline since going up to the 3. Liga in 2021. Another three points would move them to within two points of the Zebras.

Personnel matters: Dortmund coach Jan Zimmermann made three changes to the starting line-up that drew 0-0 with Halle last time out. Tom Rothe will be in the U19 squad for the first leg of the German Championship semi-final against Hertha BSC Berlin on Monday evening. Soumaila Coulibaly was in the Bundesliga squad for the match against Union Berlin and Ted Tattermusch initially dropped to the bench for tactical reasons. Guille Bueno, Antonios Papadopoulos and Franz Pfanne were the three fresh faces in the team.

The match & analysis: The Black & Yellows made the better start and set the tone in the opening minutes. Justin Njinmah went past an opponent on the right of the penalty area and crossed the ball into the middle towards Michael Eberwein, but his header flew to the right of the MSV goal (12).

The home team had a good opportunity through Moritz Stoppelkamp, who lifted the ball over Papadopoulos but then blazed his shot well over the frame of the Dortmund goal (15).

Justin Njinmah won a free-kick for the Black & Yellows over on the left flank 10 minutes later. Ole Pohlmann took the set-piece and played the ball towards the Duisburg six-yard box, where Padadopoulos outjumped two opposing players and headed home to make it 1-0 (25).

It developed into a largely even encounter between the goal and half-time – almost without any highlights of note. But when there was danger, it came in the Duisburg half. The eye-catching Pohlmann had a shot from long range that tested MSV goalkeeper Vincent Müller, who managed to deal with the danger by parrying the ball to the side (43).

The Zebras registered their best opportunity after the break following a through-ball by Stoppelkamp towards Julian Hettwer, who was however denied by Dortmund goalkeeper Marcel Lotka (51).

Justin Njinmah’s masterpiece came shortly afterwards: Abdoulaye Kamara played the ball from midfield to the forward, who was allowed to dribble to the edge of the Duisburg box unopposed, then cut inside two opposing players and fired home a low effort from the edge of the box to make it 2-0 (57).

Duisburg’s Benjamin Girth then failed to score from two metres following an MSV corner, firing his shot well over the Dortmund goal (59).

Borussia’s U23s subsequently put the game to bed: Papadopoulos flicked on a cross from Tattermusch with a header and Michel Eberwein headed the ball into the net to make the score 3-0 (66). 

And only moments later, Pohlmann played a corner from the right side into the box. Ted Tattermusch flicked the ball on with a header, and it bounced off the chest of Duisburg’s Marvin Senger at the back post and over the line for 4-0 (70). The home side’s resistance was finally broken. Franz Pfanne then scored with a deflected shot from range to make it 5-0 (75).

Coach Jan Zimmermann: “We’re delighted with the three points but also need to put it into perspective. We scored several goals in the second half where we were also slightly lucky. All things considered we deserved to win, that’s really important for us. At the moment it’s going quite well, the lads were very focused, are taking everything in, are open and are really quick to implement. The triumphs give them the confidence they need for the work we’re doing. We’re not through by a long shot. We’re on a really good path, but it’d be very careless if we stopped too soon.”

Outlook: The U23s will play host to SV Meppen next Saturday. Kick-off at Stadion Rote Erde will be at 14:00 CET.

U23s: Lotka – Özkan, Papadopoulos, Dams, Bueno (Aning, 78) – Kamara (G. Gürpüz, 78), Pfanne, Pohlmann – Njinmah (Otuali Omohe, 83), Eberwein (Elongo-Yombo, 83), Michel (Tattermusch, 62).

Goals: 0-1 Papadopoulos (25), 0-2 Njinmah (57), 0-3 Eberwein (66), 0-4 Senger (own goal, 70), 0-5 Pfanne (75).

Daniel Mertens